The end of the school year is such a busy and sometimes stressful time for students and teachers! Changes to schedules, celebration events, special activities, strong emotions, and more take up time and can throw off your usual classroom routines. That’s why I LOVE our End of the Year book! It’s such a fun way to review our year together, it’s an easy activity to squeeze in wherever needed during this hectic time, and it makes a great keepsake for kids to take home and share with their parents!
I assemble these books with about two weeks to go. We use them often during the last couple of weeks and students can also complete any unfinished pages if they complete class assignments early or after they take the book home. We do about one or two pages per day.
I always enjoy seeing what they say on the “All About My Teacher” page. We really get to know each other throughout the year and it’s cute what they notice. 🙂 Cats, books, and rainbows are what they usually relate to me!
This year, we attended our first field trip in a long while, so I am excited to add that page back in to the booklet. With so many good memories in first grade, we usually make a chart together and then students can choose which one they want to write about. This is a great time for them to work quietly with their friends, too. I know they will miss each other over the summer and maybe not be in the same class next year, so it’s a great time for them to chat and enjoy each other’s company as they work in their booklet.
Our ABC List is one of my favorite things we do! This usually takes a few sessions for us to fill up together. The students have one in their booklet, too. They can copy ideas from our class list or add in their own thoughts. It can also help students think of other events and activities to include in their booklet. If you haven’t tried ABC Lists, they are a fantastic culminating activity! I’ve done seasonal charts, back to school charts, and even concept-related ABC charts such as Plants, Sun and Moon, and Healthy Habits, and more!
During our opinion writing unit, we make a list of our “specials” classes and list the things we like about each one. I pull that chart back out so kids can use it for ideas. Several years ago, we decided to have our first graders write a friendly letter directed to incoming first graders to tell them about first grade, their teacher, academic concepts, and more. They love it and I love reading each one!
This booklet has been a life saver for me over the years. Even if we have sent home folders, notebooks, and such, we can pull out our booklet and have great activities ready to go!
Click the image below to see everything that’s included in this great end of the year booklet!
Find other end of the year ideas for your classroom in this blog post!
Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Teaching!
Jennifer ~ Practical Primary Teacher
